A large group of former fisherman from Iceland came to visit Grimsby Fishing Heritage Centre to relive and reminisce about times gone by.
After the creation of a group for former Icelandic fisherman on social media in October 2024, numbers have steadily been growing.
Having become established, the 48 strong group from Akureyri, known as the capital of North Iceland, visited Hull before travelling across the bridge to Grimsby’s heritage centre on Thursday, 27 March.
The group was treated to a tour of the Ross Tiger by former skipper Bob Formby as well as enjoying a walk around the museum before tucking into a slice of cake at the Galley Café.
Leading the group was Sigfus Helgoson who was a fisherman in Iceland during the 80s and 90s. “It was amazing, we’ve all loved coming here.
Icelandic fisherman aboard the Ross Tiger
“It reminded me of my time on the boats, which was 30 years ago, so this has brought back some great memories for me,” he said.
Fellow former fisherman, David Hauksson, added: “I thought the museum was perfect and a fantastic place to learn about fishing.
“We have something similar to this in Reykjavik, but not to this level. It’s definitely something many of us would like in Akureyi if we could and we’ll definitely be coming back to Grimsby in the future.”
Many Grimbarians may remember confrontations between Grimsby and Icelandic fisherman during the Cod Wars in the 50s and 70s.
In 1958, Iceland expanded its territorial waters to 12 Nautical Miles and banned foreign fishing fleets form operating in this zone. Britain refused to accept the decision, leading to incidents where British boats had their “gears chopped” whereby Icelandic vessels cut their nets, ultimately losing their catch, and Iceland threatening to withdraw from NATO.
Eventually, a deal was brokered in 1976 whereby foreign fleets needed permission from Iceland to fish in their territorial waters. Now, 50 years on from the conclusion of the Cod Wars, former Skipper Bob Formby was thrilled to have fisherman from a different country visit the centre.
“When we spoke about our respective jobs, we found we did more or less the same thing.
“The only difference was that they worked six hours on and six hours off, whereas we worked all the hours God sent. I’ve loved having them here though and they enjoyed the museum and the trip on the Ross Tiger; overall it was a great day.”
Bob Formby being interviewed by Icelandic fisherman Ragnar Elison
Speaking about his time in the Cod Wars, Bob added: “I was one of the first trawlers to have their gears chopped. I saw a small vessel by the side of me, which I thought was another trawler, but turned out to be an Icelandic vessel. When I looked across again, it was steaming over to me and before I knew it they’d chopped my gears.
“Myself and the Icelandic fisherman had a bit of a laugh about it and, In hindsight, they were only looking after their fishing industry and having them here to speak to about it has been really interesting.”
Equally thrilled to be welcoming other fisherman at the centre was David Ornsby, Operations Manager at the Fishing heritage Centre. “A lot of them had been to Grimsby before when they were fisherman and loved being back.
“They remember seeing the Ross Tiger and enjoyed speaking about their shared history with Bob who had been a fisherman for half a century.”
He added: “We’re here to celebrate Grimsby’s heritage and it’s brilliant that we’re inspiring visits like this from Iceland.” For more information on the Fishing Heritage Centre, visit Discover the Fishing Heritage of Grimsby
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